Page 3507 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 18 September 2019

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video

(d) freezing sperm;

(e) freezing testicular tissue; and

(f) ovarian suppression drugs;

(3) recognises that while discussions about fertility preservation should and often do form part of a broader, holistic approach to treating patients with cancer or another serious disease who are at risk of infertility due to treatment:

(a) decisions about fertility preservation potential are naturally complex;

(b) for patients with a cancer diagnosis, there is added pressure to undertake treatment quickly, adding to the complexity and stress of the decisions; and

(4) calls on the ACT government to investigate the feasibility of establishing a territory-wide fertility preservation service specifically for Canberra patients of reproductive age diagnosed with cancer or another serious disease that may impact on their fertility.

There is a saying that Beth Lefevre’s family knows all too well: “If you don’t die of breast cancer, you’ll live to 100.” Beth was diagnosed with breast cancer almost three years ago. She had recently finished breastfeeding her six-month-old twins when she discovered the lump. Initial tests showed abnormal cells. A biopsy soon after identified the lump as pre-cancerous. By this stage it had tripled in size.

Beth made the incredibly difficult decision to undergo a mastectomy and immediate reconstruction. Breast cancer is all too common in her family tree. Less than a fortnight after surgery, Beth was contacted by one of her surgeons: eight millimetres of that lump had been invasive cancer. Beth underwent a course of chemotherapy, a year of immunotherapy and what will be at least five years of anti-hormone therapy.

The difficult decisions did not end with surgery or the beginning of treatment. Beth was in her early 30s when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and she was not sure that she was finished having children. If the cruel blow of a cancer diagnosis was not enough, adults of reproductive age, like Beth, face the prospect of not being able to fall pregnant or carry a child. The very treatments that can help them survive, like chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, may render them infertile—treatments like Beth has had. Chemotherapy can damage the ovarian reserve. Anti-hormone treatment can go on for up to five years or more, and sometimes 10 years.

Beth is not alone in facing the prospect of infertility. Each year close to 2,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed in the ACT. A number of these lives turned upside down—not a huge number but important nonetheless—belong to adults in their 20s, 30s and early 40s—adults of reproductive age, adults who have not finished having children, adults who may have recently decided to start a family or were in the process of trying to get pregnant, and others who may not be ready to have children or simply have not yet made up their minds.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video